Saturday, November 29, 2014

Veto-proof majorities of both chambers in the Kentucky legislature voted last spring to prohibit spending of General Fund dollars on anything related to the Affordable Care Act. Beshear now claims he is spending only Restricted Funds specifically set aside for purposes of running the "Exchange."

He hopes you forget his executive order setting those funds aside for the exchange as Restricted Funds expired unapproved in April. In other words, Beshear could spend Restricted Funds on ObamaCare if he had them, but he doesn't. Those funds don't exist so granting him permission to spend Restricted Funds when only General Funds exist is the same thing as prohibiting him from spending money on ObamaCare.

We will be in Franklin Circuit Court on Wednesday December 17, 2014 at 9:00 am ET setting this straight. Please join us if you can in Frankfort at the Franklin County Courthouse at 222 St. Clair Street in Judge Wingate's courtroom.

Friday, November 28, 2014

The Commonwealth of Kentucky's net financial position has declined by 65% while Gov. Steve Beshear has been in office, according to an official state government report called Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR).

This report is widely circulated among banks but never mentioned by Kentucky's mainstream media. In fact, KRS 48.800(3) mandates the CAFR to be made available each year by September 30, but during Beshear's time in office it has always been released quietly during the week after Christmas.

In the 2007 CAFR, Kentucky's current assets minus current liabilities exceeded $17 billion. After years of steady declines under Beshear, that figure fell to $10.5 billion in 2013. These figures do not include Kentucky's massive unfunded future pension liabilities.

The 2014 figures will include the very beginning of Kentucky's ObamaCare catastrophe. Please spread the word. More of us need to be looking for those numbers in one month. They will be published here as soon as I have them.

Wednesday, November 26, 2014

Frankfort Obamacrats insist their "health reform" has enrolled 521,000 Kentuckians and they have been insisting it since July, despite an incredible volume of ObamaCare Medicaid advertising and ongoing enrollments.

I just received an email from "Exchange" Executive Director Carrie Banahan in response to repeated requests admitting 806,783 Kentuckians enrolled in Medicaid under the ObamaCare mandate since October 1, 2013.

The reason for Frankfort's secrecy on this is the huge number of new Medicaid recipients and the cataclysmic impact it would have on the current budget if this travesty is allowed to continue.

Exposing this and correcting it is the reason for our fight. Please forward this email as widely as you can and please click here to contribute to the effort. Anything you can donate will help get this mess straightened out.

"Seven hundred and fifty thousand new Kentuckians on Medicaid we can't afford and a decimated individual health insurance market combined with abuse of executive powers and constitutional violations demand answers from Kentucky's top Obamacrat," said David Adams, plaintiff in Franklin Circuit Court case 14-CI-1337. "Beshear needs to come clean now so we can start cleaning up his ObamaCare mess."

At the start of ObamaCare implementation in Kentucky, which Beshear insisted on pursuing without legislative approval as state law requires, he claimed there were 640,000 uninsured Kentuckians. He now touts a Gallup poll showing there are 528,000 uninsured Kentuckians while also sticking to an outdated enrollment figure of 521,000 in Kentucky ObamaCare for most of which we are spending current state dollars to cover with Medicaid. By his own figures, 78% of Kentuckians signing up for ObamaCare were previously covered by private health insurance.

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Kentucky's biggest ObamaCare health insurer has been granted a twenty percent premium increase by the state Department of Insurance. Kentucky Health Cooperative requested the rate hike on October 24.

"This mess is based on funny numbers but the only people laughing are Obamacrats filling their pockets with taxpayer money," said David Adams, plaintiff in three lawsuits challenging illegal ObamaCare implementation and state spending in Kentucky.

More than 800,000 Kentuckians are signed up for ObamaCare so far, which the state can not begin to afford. Mainstream media coverage of this debacle has ranged from abysmal to obsequious.

Thursday, November 06, 2014

Gov. Steve Beshear is relying on a 1942 law combined with general ignorance of changes in the Kentucky Constitution from 1992 to appoint a new lieutenant governor today after Jerry Abramson resigned to work in the Obama Administration.

KRS 63.190, enacted in 1942, states "In every case where there is no provision of law for the filling of a vacancy in any office, the vacancy shall be filled by an appointment by the Governor."

But several changes in the Constitution enacted 1992 did speak to the issue and since a gubernatorial vacancy had not happened under those rules until today, the issue hasn't been thoroughly explored. When you look at the relevant constitutional sections, it becomes clear Beshear can't override the will of the voters or the Kentucky Constitution by replacing a duly elected lieutenant governor on a whim.

Section 70 of the Kentucky Constitution states: "The Governor and Lieutenant Governor shall be elected for the term of four years by the qualified voters of the state. They shall be elected jointly by the casting by each voter of a single vote applicable to both offices, as shall be provided by law."

This section combined the offices at the head of Kentucky's executive branch for the first time in history. The lieutenant governor can't attain that office by his own election. He (or she) gains the office by election with a candidate for governor. The office of governor is not filled without both a governor and lieutenant governor. So this brings in Section 85.

Section 85 of the Kentucky Constitution states: "And if, during the vacancy of the office of Governor, the Lieutenant Governor shall be impeached and removed from office, refuse to qualify, resign, or die, the President of the Senate shall in like manner administer the government."

The office of Governor as defined by Section 70 became partially vacant when Abramson resigned. Section 85 describes how such a vacancy is to be remedied. Senate President Stivers should become Kentucky's Lieutenant Governor.

Plaintiff, David Adams, for his Complaint against Defendants, the Commonwealth of Kentucky, acting through the Office of the Governor (“Governor”), and Governor Steve Beshear, in his official capacity as Governor of the Commonwealth, State Treasurer Todd Hollenbach, in his official capacity as State Treasurer and Audrey Tayse Haynes, in her official capacity as Secretary of the Cabinet for Health and Family Services respectfully states as follows:

I.Nature of Action

This is a civil action for declaratory and injunctive relief relating to Governor

Beshear’s continued attempt to unilaterally impose upon the Commonwealth acceptance of optional provisions of the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, hereinafter ObamaCare. David Adams seeks injunctive relief in the form of a court order forbidding Governor Beshear from spending state funds related to ObamaCare’s optional provisions under any circumstances without prior and proper legislative approval.

2. Time is of the essence in resolving this issue because the current state budget explicitly forbids spending state funds directly or indirectly related to ObamaCare. Defendants’ actions make clear they have no intention of obeying state law in this matter until forced to do so. Continued delay in limiting the state officials’ activities in this matter to within the scope of Kentucky law and Constitution of the Commonwealth of Kentucky sets a terrible precedent for ignoring constitutional limits on executive branch authority to protect Kentuckians’ rights to seek and pursue their safety and happiness as explicitly guaranteed by the Kentucky Constitution.

3. The judicial branch of the Commonwealth of Kentucky is the only remaining venue for redress available to David Adams.

4. As a result of the actions of Defendants, David Adams respectfully seeks an injunction against any continued illegal spending related to ObamaCare until such time as proper legislative approval is granted as required by Kentucky law and the Kentucky Constitution.

II. The Parties

5. David Adams is a citizen of the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

6. Governor Steve Beshear is sued in his official capacity as Governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

7. State Treasurer Todd Hollenbach is sued in his official capacity as State Treasurer of the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

8. Cabinet Secretary Audrey Tayse Haynes is sued in her official capacity as Secretary of the Health and Family Services Cabinet.

10. The Executive Branch Budget as enacted by House Bill 235 in the 2014 General Assembly states: “Subsequent to these Executive Branch actions, no executive order related to the ACA has been codified by the General Assembly, nor has any administrative regulation related to the ACA been approved by a vote of the majority of the members of a legislative committee. Providing that the Governor continues unilateral implementation and operation of the ACA in the Commonwealth, the General Assembly shall limit the ACA's impact on the 2014-2016 State/Executive Branch Budget and future biennial budgets so as not to bind future General Assemblies. Therefore, no provision within this Act shall be deemed, adjudged, or constructed as being a recognition, finding, or admission of the General Assembly's approval of the operation of the ACA in Kentucky.”

11. The Executive Branch Budget as enacted by House Bill 235 in the 2014 General Assembly further states: “The Governor is expressly prohibited from expending any General Fund resources on any expenditure directly or indirectly associated with the Health Benefit Exchange. ”

12. The Executive Branch Budget as enacted by House Bill 235 in the 2014 General Assembly further states: “As the only body in the Commonwealth with the constitutional power to make appropriations, the General Assembly recognizes that federal funding for the expansion of Kentucky's Medicaid Program is not recurring in nature; therefore, the intent of the General Assembly is that funds received from the Affordable Care Act, or its successor, shall not be used to permanently expand existing programs, permanently create new programs, or in any way increase the requirements to be placed on the General Fund or Road Fund above the adjusted appropriation level as of June 30, 2014. ”

13. Defendants have made contracts in violation of these clear prohibitions as enacted by the General Assembly and have further made public statements indicating no intention to obey state law unless forced to do so. This unprecedented attempt at the abrogation of the rule of law in the Commonwealth cannot be countenanced by people who wish to remain civilized.

V. Claims for relief

14. David Adams seeks declaratory relief pursuant to KRS 418.040. David Adams seeks a judicial determination of the rights and duties of the parties with regard to an actual controversy arising out of Defendants’ conspiracy to adopt optional provisions of ObamaCare without prior and proper legislative approval and to spend state funds in violation of Section 230 of the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Kentucky in violation of David Adams’ rights as a citizen.

15. David Adams seeks injunctive relief to stop Defendants’ violation of state law prohibiting spending of state funds for ObamaCare.

VI. Prayer for relief

16. David Adams requests the court enter a judgment declaring Defendants have erred in contracting, agreeing and conspiring to violate state law by spending state funds for ObamaCare despite the clear prohibition of same by the duly enacted 2014 Executive Branch Budget and prohibiting them from continuing to do so or to resume such activity until they are granted prior and proper permission by an act of the Kentucky General Assembly.

Monday, November 03, 2014

The best thing that can happen in Kentucky's elections this year is repudiation of Obamacrats generally and state House candidates supported by wild, false attacks by a group called Kentucky Family Values PAC specifically.

The Kentucky state House will never do anything to improve our plummeting fiscal fortunes, whether it's public pensions or mounting real budgetary deficits or improve our regulatory approach, economic policies or our broken judicial system with Greg Stumbo calling the shots. An avalanche of "Kentucky Family Values" sponsored advertising touting Democratic candidates as paragons of conservative virtue while maliciously slandering Republicans has blanketed the state in recent weeks by the same operatives who make a living attacking "big money Republicans."

The group's cartoonish propaganda is laughable to anyone paying attention, but we are counting on a lot of people to do their homework to see past the smokescreen. Fortunately, their nonsense was so over the top, a significant number of people have done just that.

"Kentucky Family Values" supports candidates with lies to prop up a failed ideology that has kept Kentucky corrupt and backwards for decades longer than it should have. Informed citizens will do well to make sure such left-wing Pinocchio factories waste their money.